The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Copyright 1943
Pages 720

Synopsis=  The Fountainhead takes place in New York City during the 1920s and 30s. It depicts the struggles of innovative architect Howard Roark and his unswerving devotion to his own thinking and judgment. His autonomous thinking allows him to create and successfully fight for revolutionary designs.  Along the way many people use their influence in one way or another to either make or break Roark while Roark's only devotion is to himself and his own work.

At the beginning of the book we meet Howard Roark as he is being kicked out of school for refusing to do the old outdated work that is expected of it's graduates.  We also meet his nemesis Peter Keating who is a classmate of Roark and the son of Roark's landlord.  Peter is a suck-up who can smile at a persons face while stabbing them in the back, and all he cares about is success, fame, appearances and money, all of which he acquires but not through his own ability.  Eventually Roark gets what he wants- the ability to build the way he wants to, and the girl too.  Many people learn some hard lessons along the way.

Others in this work=
Elsworth Toohey=  The anti-Roark.  He is always trying to control others through manipulation, and this is his only talent.
Dominique Francon= The girl.  She is supposedly the perfect girl for Roark although she spends a lot of the book trying to destroy him because of her own views on life.  She first marries Peter Keating, and then Gail Wynand.
Gail Wynand=  Is the middle point between Roark and Wynand.  He is the owner of The Banner, a newspaper with high circulation and the same paper that both Dominique and Toohey work for (Dominique is ultimately fired for her support of Roark).  Wynand grew up like Roark, but along the way he let the world shape and corrupt him.  Only toward the end does Wynand try to turn his life around but he is not strong enough and gives in.  He is the tragic figure of the novel.

One does not have to subscribe to objectivism in order to get something out of this book.  For those who are not philosophically minded this also makes a strange love story.  The Fountainhead reads at a quick pace despite it's size and the character development is good.